The Department of Ukrainian and World Literature of Kryvyi Rih State Pedagogical University started its activity in 1982 as the Department of Ukrainian Literature , Ukrainian and Foreign Literature. As a separate structural unit of the Faculty and University, the Department of Ukrainian Literature has been working since 1989 under the direction of Doctor of Philological Sciences, Professor A. Kozlov. From 1996 to 2001, the Department was headed by Candidate of Philological Sciences, Professor L. Striuk.

In 2007, the Department of Ukrainian Literature was renamed the Department of Ukrainian and World Literature, which made it possible to expand the horizons of research and teaching and methodological activity. Nowadays, since 2005, Candidate of Philological Sciences, Associate Professor Natalia Melnyk is the Head of the Department of Ukrainian and World Literature.